updated 04:35 pm EDT, Wed October 8, 2008

Broadcom sues Qualcomm

Chipmakers Broadcom and Qualcomm are taking their fight to court yet again, as a Wednesday report has the former filing a patent misuse complaint in federal court against the latter. This is the latest development in the ongoing legal battles that date back to 2005 over mobile phone technology licensing between the two wireless device chipmakers. Broadcom claims Qualcomm's misuse of patents allows it to collect double the royalties it is entitled to, hurting the wireless industry and its consumers. The filing was made in a San Diego, California US District Court on Tuesday.

The ongoing disputes have centered around the technology used in mobile phone chipsets, requiring Qualcomm to pay royalties for allegedly using Broadcom's video compression and network technologies. Most recently, two of the three disputed patents were deemed to belong to Broadcom in court, while an appeals court ruled in favor of Qualcomm regarding one other disputed patent.